Monday, April 04, 2011

Sin

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).


During the season of Lent, it is traditional for Christians to slow down and honor the sacrifice Jesus made to free us from the ravages of sin.


Sin makes our lives miserable. We fight with our relatives. Our friends let us down. We are ripped off by dishonest merchants. We are victims of gossip and lies. Life should be happy and fulfilling, but sin takes our dreams and stomps them into the mud.


We would like to claim the moral highroad, but sin darkens our hearts and twists our thinking. We break our promises. We are rude to people who get in our way or disagree with us. We abuse our bodies with unhealthy substances and too much food. We abuse our minds by listening to nasty songs or gazing at pornography. We complain about how others sin, without seeing how much hurt and disappointment we are responsible for.


Sin is a problem for everyone. We are both victims and victimizers. We are caught in an endless loop of getting hurt and repaying that hurt with interest.


Jesus came to stop the cycle of pain. On Mount Calvary, our Lord suffered the pain of every sin committed by every person throughout all time. Jesus suffered the pain caused by your ancestors, you, and your descendants. Jesus is the Son of God, yet the pain of all our sin was so great that He was in agony as He died on the cross.


Jesus could certainly have come down from that awful cross and gone on His way, all wounds instantly healed. But Jesus stayed where He was, because only through His suffering could we be freed of sin and the pain that it brings. Jesus suffered in our place to spare us from everlasting pain and regret in the fires of hell.


Jesus offers soothing balm for what ails us. He forgives all our mistakes. He helps us to let go of old hurts and forgive as He has forgiven us. He rips away our stubborn pride so we can admit that we’ve been wrong and need to be forgiven. Jesus has experienced more pain and deeper hurt than you or I can possibly imagine. Yet He endured all that out of love for you and concern for your well being.

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